How is a small fish supposed to JV with the big(er) fish?

[Dovid Staples]

Hello BP, this is not really a "how do I get started" question so much as a how do I finish getting started question.

I began to pursue commercial real estate about a year ago when I realized the SFR market here was saturated and that the same principles of putting together a good deal and then finding a partner should be able to work just the same with larger properties.

And when I say 'began to pursue" I don't mean "I read a couple books and been thinking about it" I mean I took some people in the industry out to lunch, got in touch with brokers in my area, receive listings in my email, get property financials and rent rolls from CBRE to analyze, and went and got a full time job for a commercial real estate research company.

There are three commercial retail properties in Arizona that I believe have great potential, two off market and one listed. I have no fear of writing a LOI or making an offer, the problem I have is what happens if it's accepted? I don't have the earnest money to put down on a $3-10M property, so how is a broker or an owner ever going to take me seriously enough for me to at least be able to take the deal to a possible JV partner? Even more than that, how is someone like me supposed to secure the deal well enough to have a quality presentation for a JV?

I suppose my quandary can be broken down as:

What are the expectations of the broker/and or owner of an interested buyer?

How can I appear to meet those expectations?

How can I actually meet those expectations?

What's the time frame expected from receipt of the LOI, to the written offer, to the deadline for earnest money?

And most importantly, what should the order of events be from when I first come across a property to when I'm closing on it with a partner?